The plans had been put in place and the wheels set in motion; there was little way out of it now, but she had to find a way. For as long as she could recall, she'd prioritised others - be it their emotions, their worries or their opportunities - and now she needed time to focus on herself. But it was to hard to tear herself away, she cared too much to go; she knew deep down she had to stay.

Born during lockdown as a platform to release music with spirit, no genre unturned, Brussels-based Undo Seat Belts return for their second release, this time inviting French artist Victor Gaudin AKA Cepren Synth to steer the ship with his fuzzy analog wave and synth jams. Titled 'The sorry best of', the 8-track LP collects unreleased tracks that Victor has been making in his bedroom over the last five years: "No edits, no cuts, no reasons as freedom is a distant memory."

PREMIERE: Cepren Synth - I Gotta Stay [Undo Seat Belts]

If you've ever had the feeling that things just don't make sense, that there's a hidden world of dark magic waiting in the dead spaces, the forgotten corners... well this is the music for you.

Dutchman Erik Griffioen's obsession with the esoteric is well known, and for some time his Lloyd Stellar alias has focused on this sense of the world just out of view.

Griffioen runs LDI Records as an outlet for his prolific creativity, but this release for Gated pulls from his early works, the tracks that almost got away.

This is one-strobe-in-a-dark-room electro, which rides the fine line that exists somewhere between euphoria and madness. It's relentlessly underground. And we love it.

A2 Lloyd Stellar - The Future Is Not What It Used To Be (Clip)

There hadn’t been a winter like this in decades; everything and everyone had ground to a complete halt. It was the kind of cold you could feel in your bones, the kind that took your breath away as soon as you stepped outside. People daren’t leave their houses in fear of losing fingers and toes to frostbite, or worse still, freezing over completely. It left the streets and shops eerily empty, as though some strange spirit had swept through and claimed all that was living for themselves.

The brainchild of producer and musician F.M., the Froid Dub project originally came to life during the first lockdown, but it wasn’t until it became a joint effort that it took its final form. Enlisting the help of fellow musician Fa_Fane, with whom he also runs the DELODIO imprint, the pair set about marrying synthetic and organic textures; the results of which make up their new release ‘DUBS & BEATS…’. The EP riffs off their debut EP, ‘An Iceberg Cruising the Jamaican Coastline’, collecting eight new dub versions and bonus beats that take the original icy cuts and rhythmic collages into new realms.

PREMIERE: Froid Dub - Frozen Dub Sandwitch [DELODIO]

Providing his debut for Ransom Note Records offshoot Insult To Injury, our fellow Amsterdammer and ECHOBOX radio DJ Oneven (a.k.a. Andrew Visser) offers up five pieces of electronic meatiness for our ravenous consumption. As a duel British/Dutch citizen, his electronic music heritage is strong and he draws on early IDM / Braindance methods to create a unique, trademark sound. With a huge passion for hardware, Oneven tries to keep the music as organic and honest as possible, mistakes and all.
Lead single (and synth master class) VM1S2RM springs out of the trap first, hurtling along at breakneck pace, peppered with curious bleeps, noises and percussion stabs, this IDM monster leaves little breathing room. Next up, M52t5, comes down a few gears and treats us to some laid back, electro tinged 808 beats and beautifully ethereal chords over the industrial, Kraftwerk-esque synth lines.
brrytmt takes us into another world completely, tugging at the heartstrings with its expressive, lofi chords, rolling over the top of some beautifully heavy, distorted beats. Tissue continues in that vein, more subdued machine sounds are juxtaposed to the frantic 707 rhythms and repeating vocal edit, conjuring up an eerily stunning scene.
Rounding off, we’re treated to more stirring, processed sounds with Dlaciebie. A sparse and precise piece of automaton music that invokes a certain sadness, proving once and for all that, machines do indeed have emotions...

Gebarentalen EP

Buy/Stream

Oneven - Dlaciebie [ITI#19]

Artist: https://soundcloud.com/friedrich_ernst
Track: Rhythm Control
Label: https://soundcloud.com/self-learning-system
Format: 12" Vinyl EP 
Release date: OUT NOW
YouTube: https://youtu.be/7Rww_Itvsuc

The second strike of Leipzig’s new electro offshoot sets Friedrich Ernst on the offensive. With these four new tracks he progressed his sound signature from a playful but reflected 8bit world soundtrack on SELF001 to a firm and gritty b-boy attitude. With SELF002 the do-it-yourself label team of DJ Unisex and Friedrich Ernst back up nothing less than their label mission: "We believe in the human mind as a self-learning system" – and it has the basement dance in the eye. 
Classic electro otakus will parté about the succinct elements that fits each other seamlessly on Class Beat while the groove remains alert and phantasmagoric.
Back 2 The Ol_ Skool invites two breakdance crews to battle out who owns the floor: the pale electro robot boys on the left and the hoover sound loving UK hardcore girls on the right.
Wildstyle is the living proof that a tight 808 groove still smashes especially hard when complimented with a proper breakbeat. Best played loud and from vinyl.
The last bit of the whole enchilada is almost tranquilizing until you realise how far your stone rolled already. Rhythm Control is a crowd pleaser with endless qualities.
Collaboration partner Dominik Widmann delivers the stunning artwork again for their ongoing conceptual series with his acrylic paintings. Included as A2 inlay print in every record.

PREMIERE |  Friedrich Ernst - Rhythm Control [Self Learning System] 2022

The restaurant was teeming with wonderful smells that seeped through the doors to the kitchen and filled diner's nostrils. There was nothing more inviting than a freshly prepped dish made with the finest quality ingredients, and this was truly the spot to frequent if this was what you were after. As soon as that first mouthful hit your lips you were in heaven; food truly was the key to anyone's heart.

Miami-based producers DJ Ray and Goiz welcome a new batch of producers for the second instalment in their Club Tools series. Just like their first collection, round two brings a pack of tunes custom-made for the "explorative club deejay", ranging from raw drum workouts to hypnotic, shuffling beats. On this one we're treated to fresh material from a handful of US producers - Miami's Bong Soup, NYC producer Will Dimaggio and Canadian-bred-Berliner Logan Sturrock aka FlØrist - as well as Seoul-based maestro Mogwaa.

PREMIERE: Bong Soup - Dr. Eggman [Open Space]

https://soundcloud.com/dimgarden
https://soundcloud.com/italo_moderni
🛒 https://italomoderni.bandcamp.com
🔊 https://youtu.be/Ae_ZwkcFm_g

In this bio about the new Dim Garden - A Dauntless Sprite Descends (Album) we are not going to define the concept of this musical jewel, since each of the selected tracks is a part of the astral journey in the enchanted forest of Dim Garden in The Hague. Choose the door from which you want to start the Album and you will have a different and mystical experience.

Close your eyes...can you feel it? giant mushrooms and animals running alongside us while they wink at us, so that we can continue to enter the forest while some magicians with giant long beards are playing synthesizers in the treetops in the light of the Moon.

When we believe that we have completed the entire forest, a giant light appears from the bottom of the forest and all the animals go towards it, to pay their respect. One of the Forest Gods of Dim Garden appeared... the white wizzard named ''Legowelt'' with a super magic remix and his fast paced take on the track ''Visions of Love'' and all his synths around him.

The housekeeper of the Forest is Jentlemen with her Remix of ''Na Mata''. Without realizing it, you have already been absorbed by the essence and atmosphere of Dim Garden... Open your eyes... or was it just a dream?

PREMIERE: Dim Garden - Visions Of Love [Italo Moderni]

A 12” filled to the brim with talent, Schrödinger’s Box have collected three juggernauts of wave tainted electronics for the latest. Dmitry Distant teams up with Norwell for a partnership of serious intent. The pair deliver a trio of blackened tracks, opening with the ghoulish caverns of “Transient State” before the long shadows, acid stains and painful echoes of “Visionary.” The duo venture into brighter territory with the computer funk of “On A Verge of Veil”, crisp beats and bubbling melodies changing the tone. Following Beyond the War, Cute Heels returns to occupy the flip. The Colombian is immediately on it with the swirling mirrors of “Kuriyaki Horizons,” a kick drum offering solid footing in this entrancing piece. An aloof, yet alluring, disco hook takes hold for “Litua”, a low thump keeping time. The finale arrives with the clipped industrial gait of “Determinated In Order.” Marching to a military beat, this work is industrial inspired with Cute Heels keeping a close ear to the pressure release gauge.

PREMIERE : Cute Heels - Kuriyaki Horizons

Im So

The Music & Sampling: C. Double34 Music
The Sampled Vocals: Faith Hill & Matthew Broderick
The Artwork: The Infamous Strategy 

* FAIR USE DISCLAIMER: I do not own copyright for this copyrighted material, but under Section 107 United States Copyright Law as noted by the United States Copyright Office (Copyright Act 1976), allowance is made for fair use for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research

But You're Still Here (Inspired By Gena Storm)

aug_18_2025.mp3

Ransom Note is an online music, arts and culture magazine. We provide a home for readers and writers with boundless enthusiasm, esoteric knowledge, fierce opinions and impeccable taste.

With our core team immersed in all aspects of dance music, we publish news, articles, and interviews covering the greatest in innovative, underground culture from across the globe. We offer regular, exclusive music and mixtapes from our favourite artists, and publish features shining a light on everything from the freshest new artists to the untold tales from rave history.

Alongside this we offer musings on film, books, life, and art, generating some context and controversy as an antidote to the reheated PR that clogs up the internet. Our office is fuelled by Tunnock’s Bars, cat memes, hangovers and a ridiculous, never ending love for our culture.

We're always interested in getting new writers on board – feel free to get in touch if you’ve got a story to tell.

With love until the grave.

PREMIERE: Cepren Synth - I Gotta Stay [Undo Seat Belts]

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